Where does Tristan Wirfs rank among players under 25?
The Bucs won gold when they traded a spot in the 2020 Draft to select Tristan Wirfs in the first round. He immediate…
The Bucs won gold when they traded a spot in the 2020 Draft to select Tristan Wirfs in the first round. He immediately filled a great need for a right tackle and turned in a stellar rookie season as Tampa Bay won Super Bowl LV.
Wirfs followed that debut season with another stellar season in 2021, earning his first career All-Pro selection. He was a big part of the Bucs winning a franchise-record 13 regular season games and everyone saw how important he was when the team was without him in the NFC Divisional Round loss to the Rams.
Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs — Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
In 2022, Wirfs delivered another phenomenal season. He hit three in three years and he has already cemented himself as one of the best offensive linemen in Tampa Bay history. He is on track for Bucs Ring of Honor status and possibly a Hall of Fame induction at his current pace.
And as the Bucs enter a new era without Tom Brady, Tristan Wirfs stands out as one of the team’s building blocks for the future. He just turned 24 in January. As a result, he qualified for the list of top 25 players under the age of 25as ranked by Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus (who is also a former Pewter Reporter, of course).
So, where did Wirfs end up on the list? He was in the top five and entered at №3. Only Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (№2) and Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons (№1) were ahead of him.
Here’s what Sikkema had to say about the Bucs’ top-of-the-line equipment:
“Wirfs’ overall grade took a bit of a step back in 2022, from 84.3 last season to 83.1 last year, but his pass-blocking grade jumped to an almost elite 89.1. He allowed only six total pressures on 696 pass-blocking snaps. His consistently strong play bodes well for his transition from right tackle to left tackle this season.
Tristan Wirfs seems to be transferring dominance to the left side of the line
Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs — Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
With the Bucs long letting Donovan Smith loose at left tackle this offseason and not adding a replacement in free agency or the draft, Tristan Wirfs is ready for a transfer from right to left. And as he takes that step, he will try to hand over the dominance he displayed for the first three years of his career.
As a rookie, Wirfs allowed one sack in 799 pass-blocking snaps. In his 2021 All-Pro season, he allowed only 12 presses (and a 1.6% press rate), despite recording nearly 800 pass-blocking snaps. And last year, Wirfs had the lowest pressure percentage — 0.9% — among those with at least 500 pass block attempts.
Making the transition from one end of the line to the other is certainly a challenge, but Wirfs is up to the task. He already started training at left tackle earlier this offseason to “cover his bases,” as he puts it. And it’s not that the left side is completely foreign to him, as he played there sometimes during his college career at Iowa.
There could be an adjustment period, but for someone as athletic and intelligent as Tristan Wirfs, there’s little reason to doubt that the transition will prove to be a fruitful one for both him and the Bucs. And having one of the best players under 25 anchoring the offensive line at left tackle is sure to serve Tampa Bay well for the foreseeable future.
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